CHAPTER
REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES
I
f you are serious about pursuing a career working on feature films
or series television you generally need to live, or frequent, Los Angeles or
New York City, where the industry is based, or other cities, such as
Richmond, Virginia, Wilmington, North Carolina, or Austin, Texas, where
a great deal of production takes place.
However, not everyone has the means or desire to relocate to an industry
hub. Many have carved out a successful career working in film, television,
commercial, and music video production in other regions of the country.
This chapter is dedicated to presenting some of those opportunities.
Job Overview
There are approximately 250 film commissions around the world that
represent locations and interests under their jurisdiction. Each state has a
film office with additional offices in counties or regions of the state. There
is a film commission for Australia and even one for Bosnia. "Everyone is
vying for film production activity on behalf of their community," explains
Virginia Film Office location manager Andy Edmunds, "for the obvious
economic impact it brings to the region in terms of jobs and dollars. It's
the type of industry that comes into an area and doesn't require you to
build more schools or roads. Kind of like tourist dollars."
Although offices vary, most film commissions have a director or
manager who oversees all the office activities and strives to promote the
area they represent to filmmakers. The commission director also works
JOB TITLE: FILM COMMISSION OR
FILM OFFICE AND LOCATION MANAGER
User Comments Add a comment…